From Boreholes to Apps: BoreDM + VIKTOR to Streamline Geotechnical Engineering

If you've ever performed geotechnical work, you know the drill. Boring logs scattered across PDFs. Lab results buried in spreadsheets. Critical soil parameters typed, retyped, and typed again before they finally make it into your analysis.

But what if your data only lived in one place? What if analysis happened where the data already existed?

That's exactly what happens when you combine BoreDM's structured subsurface database with VIKTOR's AI Builder. BoreDM is a web-based platform that structures and centralizes subsurface data, making it easy to log, analyze, and share boring logs and lab results.

The hidden cost of scattered data

Take Jimmy, a geotechnical engineer working at the Texas-based engineering company ETTL. Working in expansive clay country, Potential Vertical Rise (PVR) analysis governed most foundation decisions.

The workflow was painful:

• Extract lab parameters from PDFs
• Rebuild soil layering in Excel
• Run TxDOT curves on one sheet, swell tests on another
• Cross-reference everything, hoping no transcription errors crept in.

"I was spending more time fighting with Excel than actually doing engineering," Jimmy recalls. Small jobs took 5-10 minutes per boring. Larger sites with dozens of borings turned into hours of spreadsheet wrangling.

The breakthrough

Jimmy’s firm was already using BoreDM, which meant all the soil and test data he needed were stored in one place. That gave him the perfect starting point to rethink his workflow. The solution came when Jimmy realized his firm's BoreDM implementation held all the pieces he needed. Using VIKTOR's AI Builder, he created an application that reads BoreDM project data through APIs and performs dual PVR calculations without a single export or manual data entry step.

The transformation was immediate. "I went from boring logs to completed analysis in about 45 seconds," Jimmy explains. "The same job used to take hours on larger projects."

The real win was consistency. Since both TxDOT curves and swell tests used the same BoreDM fields, there was no risk of "Excel drift": the gradual divergence that happens when multiple spreadsheets are maintained in parallel.

How it works

Jimmy’s new workflow is simple:

• Select BoreDM project inside the VIKTOR app.
• Borings appear automatically.
• Set active moisture zone with a single click.
• Dual PVR methods run instantly and results feed back into BoreDM.

When engineering judgment demands adjustments, Jimmy can override any parameter and watch calculations update in real-time. The app helps him explore scenarios: What happens with different compaction requirements? How does PVR change with various moisture control windows?

Why this matters

Combining BoreDM with VIKTOR solves a fundamental workflow problem:

• Efficiency: Jobs that took hours now finish in minutes.
• Accuracy: Transcription errors vanish when all calculations use the same structured data.
• Confidence: Transparent logic makes every assumption visible.
• Scalability: Reusable apps become building blocks for future applications, like retaining wall checks, drilled shaft calculations, or settlement predictions.

Jimmy can now run comprehensive PVR analyses across an entire site in the time it used to take for a single boring. Quality improves alongside efficiency. And engineers spend less time on data archaeology and more time on actual engineering decisions.

A new model for SME engineering firms

Large firms have in-house development teams. Smaller consultancies are stuck with off-the-shelf software. The BoreDM + VIKTOR combination changes that equation; SMEs can build sophisticated, custom applications without hiring programmers.

This matters because geotechnical engineering is deeply local. Texas expansive clays demand different approaches than California seismic soils. Custom applications built by practicing engineers can be exactly what they need.

Jimmy's still making the same engineering decisions he always has. He's just getting to them faster, with better data, and more confidence in the calculations.

With the BoreDM + VIKTOR integration, engineers everywhere can centre their work and judgment, but eliminate everything else that gets in the way.

Ready to try it yourself?

Explore how BoreDM + VIKTOR can streamline your geotechnical workflows.

Book a demo if you'd like to learn more about this application, or try VIKTOR for free if you want to dive straight into building your own tools for geotechnical analysis!